Take Me for a Ride
by wonderwall91
Summary: Rachel visits her fathers in Lima to attend an engagement party of one Mr. Burt Hummel. There she encounters a young man that changes her world, whether for the better or worse? She can't decide. AU.
1. Chapter 1

Hello! So, I haven't written fanfiction of any type in a really long time, but I started out with Glee and Finchel. I wanted to return to that. I'm not sure if people still like this ship, but I do, regardless of Cory's tragic passing.

I really enjoyed writing the first chapter. If you would like me to continue posting then just let me know. :)

This is AU. I own nothing.

* * *

"Daddy," she huffed, "I don't want to go. I don't even remember Kurt Hummel. What makes you think his father would want me at his engagement party?" She sighed, knowing that her father could talk her into anything. It didn't help that she hadn't seen her fathers in six months. They were breaking her down. Any resolve she had was crumbling.

"Sweetie, he said to invite our charming daughter. Last time I checked _you _had no siblings." Leroy chuckled in the background. "If you really don't want to make the trip out here to see us then we understand." She grunted in frustration.

"Fine, daddy, I'll come. But _only _if Jesse can come." She smiled, knowing that she had finally won. To her horror her father quickly agreed.

"Whatever. I can deal with your boyfriend if it means getting to see my baby girl."

"I can't," she heard Leroy yell, again from the background. She stomped her foot in the middle of the living room, not caring that she was throwing a temper-tantrum at the age of 24.

"Fine. We'll take the next train out," she stated before hanging up.

Somehow she just knew her fathers were laughing at her all the way from Lima, Ohio.

* * *

The train ride was, for a lack of a fancier word, boring. She was entirely miserable. Jesse had done nothing but complain for the thirty minutes they had been riding. She definitely was not looking forward to the 15 hour train ride. "Why couldn't we fly again?" Jesse questioned, interrupting the flow of negative thoughts entering her mind.

"Jesse, we can barely afford rent. Did you want to buy two plane tickets and be evicted from our apartment?" His curls bounced as he tilted his head back in musical laughter. His blue eyes sparkled before her.

"You're right, love," he cooed before throwing his arm around her. "Do you think your parents will like me better this time around?" The sincere tone in his voice made her cuddle into his side, resting her head on his chest lightly. Jesse hadn't made a very good first impression on her fathers to say the least. It had hurt her feelings, especially since she really cared about Jesse.

"I'm sure they will," she responded, "besides, I love you and that's all that is important," she finished. She noted the awkward way Jesse tightened up at hearing the phrase.

"About that," he murmured into her hair before standing up in the midst of the train, completely ignoring the stares of all the passengers. "Rachel Berry," he whispered before getting down on one knee, "I'm so in love with you, and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you. Please say that you'll marry me." He pulled a ring out of his pocket and waited with baited breath for a reply.

There was no thought process behind her answer. The "yes" came out with a shriek as she plowed into his arms. The few people who were paying attention to the scene began to applaud before going back to their respective conversations, games, and books.

The rest of the train ride was spent in pure ecstasy. She was 24 years old and engaged to the love of her life. Sure, they fought a lot and hardly ever saw eye to eye, but she loved him. She loved the comfort that their relationship held. Jesse had been there for her when her papa had cheated on her dad. Jesse had been there for her in ways that neither of her fathers had been able to be. She couldn't stand Leroy for a period of months. She had promised herself to never cheat on anyone simply because she had seen what it could do to a person.

Jesse had been there for the period of time that she had been on Broadway and then realized it wasn't her dream after all.

Jesse had been there for her first surgery. He had taken care of her and catered to every need despite the fact that it was a minor thing at best.

Jesse loved her. She loved him. It was only natural that they took their relationship to the next level at some point.

* * *

After the train stopped in Toledo they made their way to the Rent-A-Car center that was conveniently located next to the station. She waited patiently outside the dealership for her fiancé. She let the thought of her wedding roll around in her mind-scenes playing out one after the other. What would her daddies do? Would they even attend? She was certain they would, whether or not they liked Jesse or not.

"Ready to go?" Rachel inhaled sharply at the question. She hadn't expected Jesse back so soon and was slightly startled at his voice.

"Yes, of course," she replied, following behind him as he twirled the newly acquired keys. She trailed him to the car and eased inside the passenger side once it was unlocked. She glanced at the ring on her finger before noticing that Jesse was watching her out of the corner of his eye. "What is it?" She questioned.

"Are we telling your fathers about the engagement," he questioned, sadly. It hurt her feelings that he expected her to be ashamed of him, but she also didn't really want to be around when her fathers heard the news. "I guess not," he murmured before throwing the gear shift into the drive.

"Jesse, of course we are," she replied with what she hoped seemed excitement. "My daddies will just have to get over it. I love you. That's it," she finished with finality. He seemed to buy her faux cheeriness and began the hour and a half drive to Lima.

She grew nervous with each turn that brought them closer to her house. Her stomach was twisting and pulling in ways that she had never experienced on Broadway. Jesse rubbed her hand soothingly, as though he too was nervous. "We can still leave, if you want to," he whispered. It was tempting to take his offer, but she hadn't endured the train ride to just turn back around.

"We can't. Besides, I'm excited to see my fathers, Jess." He nodded and continued to do as the GPS told him. "You can turn that off," Rachel added, "this is the street." He clutched the steering wheel in an attempt to ease his own nerves. "Right here," Rachel pointed. She noticed that her fathers were already standing outside and running towards the car. She jumped out and ran to meet them halfway. The family embraced for what seemed like hours. Rachel chose to ignore the tears that sprung to her eyes at the thought of being with her fathers again-as a happy family and not the broken one she had remembered so well. "How are you, baby?" Leroy asked with a squeeze to her shoulder. She melted into the embrace and smiled as the smell of cinnamon overtook her nostrils. Her papa had always smelled of cinnamon regardless of whether or not cinnamon had been in the vicinity.

"I'm great now. I missed you all so much," she replied with mirth. Her fathers laughed and pulled her in tighter.

"This coming from the girl who didn't want to come see us," Hiram whispered to Leroy. "Now," he added, "Jesse, get over here." Rachel stiffened and turned around to see Jesse struggling to carry the entirety of their luggage. "Rachel's papa and I have talked and decided that we haven't been giving you a fair shot." Leroy looked as though he had no clue what Hiram was talking about, clearly unhappy that his husband was apologizing to Jesse.

"Thank you, sirs," Jesse replied with a sincere smile plastered on his face. Leroy rolled his eyes, earning a smack in the gut from Hiram.

"The party is tonight at seven. You both are expected," Leroy answered, tone clipped. Rachel sighed. She shouldn't have expected her papa to take well to Jesse being around.

"What lucky woman is Mr. Hummel engaged to?" Rachel questioned with sincerity. She couldn't remember much about his son, but she had remembered countless times in high school when Mr. Burt had fixed her car at discount prices. He always been the kindest gentleman who had lost his wife.

"Carole Hudson," Hiram exclaimed with glee. "Do you remember her son? Finn? He was several years older than you," he added with an afterthought.

"No, I can't say that I'm familiar with him," Rachel replied. Jesse coughed lightly before raking his fingers over her arm.

"He's such a sweet young man. It's almost as though he should be Burt's biological son. He works in Burt's shop right now. He just got out of a nasty divorce. His wife had been cheating on him the entire time. He fought her for the kids. Turned out that neither of his children were actually his. His wife had been cheating on him the entire duration of their marriage." Rachel gasped in shock. Jesse rubbed her back soothingly.

"I don't even know his wife, but I hate her," Rachel snapped. "There is no excuse for cheating. I hate it. I hate anyone that does it." Hiram swallowed thickly. Leroy sighed.

"I'm going to go inside. Jesse, would you like me to help you with some of the bags?" Rachel tried to stop her papa before realizing what she had done.

"Daddy, I didn't mean to hurt his feelings," Rachel whispered once Jesse and Leroy had gone inside, leaving them both outside in the fall weather. "I just can't stand a person who would do such things."

"I know, Baby, I know," Hiram cooed. "Perhaps tonight will be better."

"Maybe," Rachel doubted aloud. "Daddy, Jesse and I are engaged," she whispered before showing him the ring on her finger. Hiram squealed in excitement before throwing his arms around her. She marveled at the genuine happiness that her daddy showed.

"I'm so happy for you, sweetie," he replied. "Oh, but your poor papa is going to be heartbroken." Rachel pouted and waited for her father to continue. "He's just going to have to get used to the idea of Jesse as a son-in-law. I think he just wanted you with someone like Finn Hudson," he finished. Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Even if Finn Hudson were the most attractive man in the world I wouldn't end up with him. Jesse is my soul-mate," she stated matter-of-factly.

"Let's go inside, pumpkin." Hiram wrapped his arm around his daughter and walked her inside the house to what was sure to be an eventful afternoon.


	2. Chapter 2

This chapter is rushed. And I know it. I promise that the next one will be better. I'm just getting in the swing of school starting back and writing again. I'll update soon.

Reviews are awesome but not required. It just makes me feel better to read them. :)

Enjoy.

* * *

"This is my old room," Rachel pointed out to Jesse, as he collapsed on the bed. "Jesse, what are you doing?" She shrieked, slightly upset with the fact that she had a boy in the bed she had grown up with. He sneezed before groaning slightly and rolling onto his side.

"I think I'm getting sick," he replied before another set of sneezes took over his body. She rushed over to his side and put her hand on his head. She couldn't deny that it was warm to the touch. She frowned before heading to the bathroom connected to her bedroom. She dug around under the sink before coming across her old thermometer. Sure, it hadn't been used in many years, but she was certain it could give them some kind of indication of Jesse's temperature.

She returned to find her boyfriend-scratch that-fiancé passed out on the bed. She eased over to him and slightly shook him. "Sorry, babe," he stated with a jolt. He scooted to the headboard and sat up to give Rachel room. She eased the thermometer into his mouth and waited for a reading. She sighed as it signaled a fever of 100.1. "That isn't too bad," Jesse stated. "Can I just sleep it off? I'll be good to go by the party tonight."

"Sure," Rachel whispered while pushing stray curls away from his face. She thought back to their train ride. Jesse had been unusually grumpy for the beginning of it. She recalled his random fits of coughing and the runny nose he had been sporting. It made sense that he was sick. She almost felt like a bad girlfriend for not realizing it sooner.

"Cuddle?" He whispered with eyes so pitiful that Rachel couldn't find it in her to say no. She could always visit with her fathers later in the afternoon after Jesse woke up from his nap. As though they had perfected their routine years ago, she slid into his arms and rested gently on his chest.

Soon enough she felt her own eyes start to close.

* * *

"Honey, wake up." She felt something lightly touching her. Chocolate eyes fluttered open to see Leroy Berry standing before her with somewhat of an unhappy look on his face. She glanced around the room to see that Jesse was still asleep, although drooling slightly and mumbling incoherent things. "We need to talk," he offered as his explanation for waking her. She nodded and eased out of Jesse's arms, following her papa to the living room.

"Rachel, we've been so excited to see you, and you slept the day away," Hiram explained once she had reached the couch. She nodded, sadly, before sitting down. "You could see where we would be a little upset that our daughter didn't even stay awake long enough to ask how we had been."

"I'm sorry," she replied with sincerity. It hadn't been her intention to fall asleep. Jesse had just looked so sad at the prospect of her turning his offer of a cuddle down that she couldn't bring herself to do it. "We were both tired from the trip. I actually think Jesse is coming down with something. He had a fever earlier."

"Do you think he needs to stay here tonight?" Hiram questioned. Rachel ignored the hopeful look on Leroy's face. "I'm sure he would appreciate the sleep, Baby. He doesn't know any of the people that will be at the party anyway. Don't you think he would prefer to sleep his sickness off?"

"I suppose so," Rachel retorted with a curious look at her fathers. She had known something was up from the moment they seemed concerned with Jesse's health. She was no fool; however, she would go along with their game. They had, after all, not seen their daughter in a long time.

Leroy looked at his watch and then at Rachel. "You'll probably want to start getting ready within the hour, Sweetheart." Rachel glanced at the clock on the mantle and gasped. She had a mere two hours to get ready before the family made their way to the restaurant for the Hummel engagement party.

"I have to run," she exclaimed before quickly running upstairs. She entered her room to find that Jesse hadn't moved. She walked over to the bed and gently placed her hand upon his brow before bringing said hand to his cheek. "Jesse," she whispered, placing a kiss to his lips.

"What is it?" He sleepily questioned. His blue eyes fluttered open to look at Rachel.

"You're not going to the party tonight." Jesse looked slightly confused. "You're sick. You still have fever. I know that you'd rather sleep. I'll be back before midnight."

"Rach, you didn't want to go to this party in the first place," he grunted. "I thought I was your savior tonight." She rolled her eyes playfully

"You are. But you can't save anyone if you're sick. I'll fix you some soup before I leave, alright?" He nodded before puckering his lips together-his way of asking for a kiss. She complied before getting up and running to the shower.

* * *

As she walked into the small, yet elegant, room she realized that the engagement party was going to be nothing but a reunion night for her. She recognized nearly every face she saw. Kurt Hummel skipped over to here and gave her a quick but meaningful hug before pulling away. "We think it's incredible that you came from New York just for my father's party, Rachel," he explained with sincerity. "Also, I just want to say that I have the revival album of West Side Story. You were an excellent Maria. I was so upset when I'd learned you gave up on Broadway." She stiffened slightly. Most people hadn't referred to it like that.

"I didn't give up on it," she quickly informed him. "It just wasn't what I thought it was going to be," she added. Kurt scoffed before flipping his perfectly coiffed hair.

"That's a lie. I know it, Rachel Berry. You and I are a lot alike. And because of that I know something must have changed your mind about it." She shook her head and used her acting chops to fake the smile that was plastered on her face. "Come on, I'll show you around," Kurt interjected, as though he realized he had overstepped his boundary. "The glee club gang is here, minus Quinn. You can understand why," Kurt whispered.

"I can?" Rachel questioned. Kurt looked at her as though she had grown an extra head. Kurt opened his mouth to explain but anything he was saying fell on deaf ears. Her eyes were focused on the man in the corner of the room. She eyed the way that his gray suit fit him. He was holding a drink in his hand while chatting to Mr. Hummel. Rachel grabbed Kurt by his sleeve, "Who is that?"

"You don't remember Finn?"

"No." She remembered her father talking about him earlier that day. But that was about it. She was eating her words though. Finn had surpassed her expectations. He was definitely better looking than any man she had ever laid eyes on. She looked over his face and admired the stubble that adorned his chiseled jawline. She wondered why his wife would have left him. He was, without a doubt, sexy. He began to smile lightly. "Well, crap," she whispered to herself. She didn't think it were possible that he could be any more attractive, but his lopsided grin changed her mind quickly.

"I'll introduce you," Kurt replied with excitement. He tugged on her arm, successfully dragging her towards the corner of the room where Finn was standing. She saw her fathers out of the corner of her eye smiling, with what looked like mischief twinkling in their eyes. To her horror Kurt began calling after Finn, who looked at them as though they were crazy.

He met them halfway with an easygoing smile on his face. Rachel simply gawked at his features before realizing that, once again, she spaced out. "Nice to meet you, Rachel," Finn whispered lowly before reaching out to grab her hand. She gasped at the sensation of her hand in his. It felt exciting. She wasn't entirely sure what to think of it, but it was nice.

"You too, Finn," Rachel replied.

"Rachel was on Broadway, Finn," Kurt explained as though that were her only admirable attribute. Hell, it probably was. Finn looked genuinely surprised. He didn't look like the type to even know what Broadway was.

"You're Rachel Berry then." Rachel nodded. "I help with the show choir twice a week. They named the choir room after you." She shook her head in disbelief.

"That's funny," she giggled. He looked curious. "Ask Kurt-my fellow glee clubbers hated me." Kurt looked away sheepishly before admitting that it was true. Finn arched an eyebrow at step-brother before looking back at Rachel.

"Well, they were stupid," Finn stated with finality. "Anyway, I need to go mingle. Find me again later, Rachel?" She nodded and then watched as he walked away, flute of Champaign in hand.

"That was weird," Kurt stated after several moments of silence. "He's been off since the divorce was finalized," he added as though that explained everything. "The entire town thought he was going to lose his mind after the truth came to light," Kurt gossiped all the while showing Rachel around to the other party guests. "He just busies himself at Dad's garage and after school with Mr. Schue."

"Mr. Schuester? Does he still teach at McKinley?" Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Unfortunately, he does; however, we both know that he doesn't actually teach anything. Now that Finn helps with the club he doesn't even show up half of the time." Rachel rolled her eyes. She had a love/hate relationship with that man. "He's actually right over there," Kurt informed while pointing to their left.

"Rachel!" A voice exclaimed from behind her. She quickly spun around to see Mercedes Jones standing there. She quickly enveloped the girl in a hug and smiled. She had known Mercedes had been living in California in an attempt to further advance her singing career. It hadn't even crossed Rachel's mind that the other glee club diva would be in attendance. "How are you, girl?"

"I'm doing well, Mercedes," Rachel replied. "How are things going for you? I heard you were in California trying to make music. Did that endeavor go well? I can imagine that it did." Mercedes rolled her eyes, smiling all the while.

"You're still as chatty as you ever were, Rach," the singer retorted with a smile. "Kurt, I'm so excited that your dad is getting married! How do you like Carole?"

"She's amazing, Mercedes," Kurt squealed. "She lets me give her facials and things that dad never let me do. It's nice having a mother figure around." Mercedes nodded.

"I heard about Finn. Any chance of you hooking me up with that fine piece of man?" She playfully bantered. Kurt chuckled lightly before rolling his eyes and swatting the diva.

"I don't know. He seemed kind of interested in Rachel over here," Kurt replied. Mercedes gasped in mock anger.

"That's not true, Mercedes," Rachel quickly replied. "We talked for a minute at the most. While I do agree that he is attractive, I think he has too much personal damage at the moment to be considered available. He seemed like such a sad soul."

"All the more reason for me to get up on that," Mercedes replied. "I used to have the biggest crush on him in school. It's finally time for me to act on my womanly urges." Rachel grabbed a glass of wine from a man carrying a tray and downed it.

At this point it looked like Jesse had the right idea.

* * *

"Hey babe, just calling to let you know that this party is not much fun without you. I hope that you are staying in bed and taking the medicines that I left out for you. I even cut them up into halves in case you didn't want to swallow them whole. I also left some extra soup in the fridge. You can heat it up if you want it." She was cut off by the voice mail. "Rude," she added before putting her cell phone back in her purse.

"Do you have a kid?" She turned around to see Finn behind her. He seemed aloof and carefree, but Rachel prided herself on reading people well. And she could see right through the façade that Finn Hudson had. His eyes told a different story than the goofy grin plastered on his face.

"No. I was leaving my fiancé a voicemail. Although I guess I did sound a little bit like a mother." Finn chuckled.

"Ya think? I don't think I ever babied Spencer or Emma that much." Rachel looked at him in confusion. "Right, they're my kids," he added. "Well, you know…" He chugged another drink before looking around the room. She noticed that his face quickly turned an ashen color. "Why is she here?" He grunted before panicking. "I have to go. Do you want to come?" He questioned while holding out his hand.

Here she was, at a party with her parents (even though she had no idea where they were) and a beautiful stranger was asking her to go with him. She knew that the sensible thing to do would be say no. She had promised Jesse she would be back before midnight. It was bordering eleven o'clock.

"Forget it." He seemed disappointed. But she watched as he walked away from her. It was almost like some slow motion scene from a movie.

"Finn, wait," she shouted over the crowd. He turned around, smiled, and waved her over, before leading her out of the restaurant.


End file.
